Power-operated lawn rakes, scarifiers and the like have been widely disclosed in the prior art. These machines are generally wheeled appliances that are either self-propelled or pushed by the operator. An electric motor or gasoline engine drives a rotor, usually through suitable gearing, and the rotor carries a plurality of axially-arranged spring fingers or tines which engage the ground. The tines propel the leaves and other debris forwardly of the rotor for collection in a suitable bin, and the bin may be removably mounted on the frame of the machine.
These machines, while perhaps generally satisfactory for the purposes intended, nevertheless have certain inherent disadvantages or deficiencies which detract from their performance, add to their manufacturing cost, or make the machines somewhat awkward and inconvenient to operate. This is especially important for a power lawn rake intended for the consumer market.